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Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Today I'm pleased to host Emerian Rich, author and editor extraordinaire, as well as the hostess of the Horroraddicts.net podcast. Her book, Dusk's Warriors, is now out.

Welcome, Emerian!

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Zack is just a street
kid who has lived past his expiration date. He figures if he has no life left,
he might as well follow a stranger into a magic puddle. What he doesn’t know is
that things are going to get a lot worse…

Excerpt from Dusk’s
Warriors

Two yards away from the thugs,
the man jumped into a puddle and sank into the earth.

“What the Hell?” Zack hid
behind a pile of pallets, watching the hoods curse and scatter.

After the gang cleared off,
Zack crept up to the puddle. It was a regular puddle, nothing unusual about it.
Seeing his reflection, he frowned. He looked dead already, with his chapped
lips, white complexion, and dark circles under his eyes. Stepping back, Zack
walked away, chalking it all up to his active imagination.

Just a vision, that’s all. People don’t disappear into puddles.

Gazing out at the dark water,
the bay seemed bottomless. Maybe drowning would be an easier death? To be
forever part of the Earth and drift around from stream to river to ocean seemed
pleasant to him. He could go places he’d never dreamed of before.

Places I’ve never dreamed of.

Looking back at the puddle, he
rubbed his neck. A kink had been there longer than he could remember. Had the
man really disappeared into the puddle?

He closed his eyes, as a gust
of chilly wind blew through him.

I’m gonna die anyway. What do I have to lose?

Walking toward the puddle, he
picked up speed as his resolution grew. When he got to the puddle, he closed
his eyes and jumped in.

I want a second chance to live. I don’t care what I have to do. Please,
just give me that chance!

Jumping into a mud puddle like
he was seven, part of him thought he would hit solid ground. The other part of
him—the part that still believed in fairytales—knew what he’d seen was real.

Zack’s feet sank into thick
sticky sludge and soon his entire body became submerged. Mud filled his ears,
nose, and had he not shut his eyes before the jump, they would have clouded
with the murky slop, too. Hoping the huge gulp of air he took before jumping
would last until he got wherever he was going, he allowed his body to be
digested by the Earth.

A wave of helplessness washed
over him, the likes that would drive him to commit suicide had he any way to do
it, but he could no more move than scream. His ears hurt, head throbbed, and
even the stiff neck he suffered paled in comparison to the pain filtering
through his limbs. As he sank, he realized what caused him pain. Noise. So much
noise, he couldn’t comprehend one single voice. Cries, moans, and screams
echoed through every vein in his body.

Help me.

Feed me.

Com-ere my pretty.

I ache so.

Take me with you!

I’m so hungry.

Eyes closed, Zack couldn’t
bring himself to open them to find out what horrible creatures made such noise.
Pressure pushed at his limbs. His body felt squeezed through a too small hole.
Like release from the birth canal, Zack sloshed out, landing on a slippery pile
of sludge. Grasping for something to steady himself, he reached out to touch
wet rocks or an animal or... Flesh moved beneath him. Sticky fingers grasped
his arm. Toes pressed to his cheek and as he opened his eyes, he saw bodies
undulating in a sea of brown, murky mud, tinged with blood. The whites of human
eyes, bloodshot and red, pleaded with him to help as they gasped, teeth thick
with sewage.

How did I get here?

I am in misery.

Let me taste you.

I’m not like them, I don’t belong here.

Zack screamed, but the place
swallowed his noise into its walls, turning it back to him in pieces. The
realization of where Zack landed brought him close to insanity. He was in a
place every little kid is threatened with, a place absent from God, a place where
your soul is forfeit.

Heaven has opened up and welcomed the vampires of Night’s Knights into a new reality. As
they struggle to find their place in their new world, trouble brews on Earth.

Demon servant, Ridge, is causing havoc by gathering up all
the souls on Earth that have been touched by immortality. When he injures one of
the Night’s Knights crew, he launches
a war between the vampires of Heaven, the Big Bad in Hell, and a mortal street
gang of vigilante misfits.

Will Julien, Markham, and Reidar be able to defeat the evil
that’s returned, or will they once again need Jespa’s help?

Emerian Rich is an artist, horror
host, and author of the vampire series, Night’s
Knights. She is the hostess of
the internationally acclaimed podcast, HorrorAddicts.net. Under the name Emmy
Z. Madrigal, she writes the musical romance series, Sweet Dreams and she’s the Editorial Director for the Bay Area
magazine, SEARCH. She lives in the
San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son.

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Before I jump into my IWSG post, I've got a story out that's free to read! It's free and short and humorous. For those who avoid my horror stories, this one has zero horror! Check out The Rejection at Fabula Argentea, and if you're so inclined, I'd love to know where else you think he should be rejected. Note that it's totally free, and there's no sign up or anything like that. No hoops to jump through. The editor said: "Shannon Lawrence's humorous rejection letter is pure fun in 800 words." So please check it out!

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It's the first Wednesday of October, which means it's time for another edition of the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Today's the day to air your writing insecurities and/or support your fellow insecure writers. Anyone can join by clicking on Alex's name above, adding your blog to the linky, posting about your insecurity of the month, and visiting fellow IWSG'ers.

The optional question for this month is: Have you ever slipped any of your personal information into your characters, either by accident or on purpose?

I've used real life events to inspire my fiction, and I'm sure there are plenty aspects of my personality and thought process that show up in characters. I've also used my neighborhood as a setting in at least one story.

My insecurities this month include the fact that I've gotten three rejection letters from agents for my novel. I know that's not many so far, and I'm more than familiar with rejection, but none have even been personal. WHY do we do this to ourselves?

Another insecurity has to do with a collection of short stories I want to put together. They're ones I've gotten the rights back on. Plus a couple more that I might skip the traditional publishing route on and just put in the collection. But first I have to research the business logistics, how to put together the different types of files and formatting, covers, editing, etc. On the flip side, I considered trying a traditional publishing route on it, but I doubt they'd be interested in what amounts to mostly reprints in a collection, especially coming from an unknown. So yeah, I've got some work ahead of me, and no idea how to fit it in. I'll figure it out. We always do, don't we?

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Time for submission stats! Every month, I post the previous month's submission stats to keep myself accountable.

In September:

2 novel queries to agents, both rejected (I will be stepping it up and sending multiple soon, but haven't gotten there yet.)
7 short story/flash submissions
9 short story rejections
1 short story acceptance
13 short stories currently on submission (I have several waiting to go back out, but I didn't have time this week.)

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Now for some links! Bear in mind I'm not endorsing any of these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence when submitting.Accepting Submissions:

Uncanny is seeking fantasy and science fiction short stories and flash fiction. 750 to 6000 words. Pays $.08/word. Submission window is just October s2 to October 16.

Horrified Press is seeking short stories in the following themes for anthologies: Trumptopia and The Devil's Piano. Up to 8000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline October 20.

Icepick is seeking both writers and voice actors. Their next theme is Heroes. Rather than giving a word length, they give a time length under 10 minutes or 10-30 minutes. Vignettes, poetry sets, essays, and more, which will be voice acted. They pay 8-10 pounds. Deadline October 22.

Horror Addicts is seeking short horror stories with music as an integral component for their anthology Crescendo of Darkness. 2000 to 5000 words. Pays $10. Deadline October 31. (I do personally endorse this publication. I enjoyed working with them, and am able to get contributor copies for a lesser charge, which allows me to sell them at conferences and events, thus making more than the $10 originally paid.)

Subprimal Poetry Art is seeking poetry and flash fiction that is lyrical. 350-750 words. Also looking for art and essays. Pays $20. Deadline October 16.

NonBinary Review is seeking poetry, fiction, essays, and art. Submissions should related to Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Up to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline October 31.

Sirens Call is seeking horror for their themed anthology If It Bleeds, It Leads! Must embody the spirit of the old newspaper headlines. 2500 to 5000 words. Pays $15. Deadline October 31. (Note: I also worked with these publishers and found it to be a good experience.)

Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking personal stories with the theme Christmas and Holiday Collection. Up to 1200 words. Pays $200. Deadline October 31.Fellowship:

The Kathy Fish Fellowship is open through SmokeLong Quarterly. Winner is the virtual Writer in Residence for four quarterly issues, in which a piece of their flash fiction will be published each time. Will also receive $500. Deadline October 31.Did you read The Rejection? What did you think? Where else would you like to see a rejection letter from? What are your insecurities? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

I recently discovered a great free online program that I've been using for all kinds of things. I don't know about you, but I'm a list maker. I've tried making lists on notepads, sticky notes, emails, Word documents, etc., and it has worked fine. However, this program makes it fun, and I find it highly addictive.

The program is Habitica. You can get to it and sign up by going to www.habitica.com. I'm not just using it for writing, but have started leaning on it increasingly for writing related reminders and habits, and I figured I'd pass along the information for other list makers (no, I'm not being paid to endorse it; I just really like it.

It's a website where you can get rewarded for accomplishing items on your to-do list. You create a character, join quests where the points you earn help you battle monsters, and you can hatch and feed pets/mounts. All of this sounds time consuming, but it's not. Otherwise, it would be just another distraction for me.

What you do is create four different lists: Habits, Dailies, To-Dos, and Rewards. So in habits I have things like "Walk 1000 steps," "Drink a glass of water," "Get up and stretch," and "Write for ten minutes." Under dailies, I have "Write daily," "Do something writing related daily," "Exercise/Walk," and "Read." To-dos are the things that would have gone on my old lists, such as "Edit Story X," "Submit rejected story Y," "Wash colors," "Research creating LLC," etc. And under rewards I've put stuff like "Purchase Funko Pop," (because I get one for each short story published) and "Drink milkshake," (which I get to have when I finish a novel.

You check these things off as you do them. Dailies reset each day, so even though you check them off today, they will be back tomorrow. To-dos are gone once you check them, so you have to add them again if it needs to reoccur. Habits are different, in that they should be things you want to do throughout the day with some regularity. That way, you click on them multiple times in a day and earn lots of points. I put habits I want to start or get more consistent with here. You can also set these to be negative, so if you sign into Facebook more than you should, setting this so you have to click on "Visited Facebook" and lose points every time you do it can be a deterrent.

Here's a screenshot from Habitica:

Whenever you click on one of these accomplished tasks, you fill the yellow bar you see on the top left. This is how you level up. It's your XP, for those who game (I don't, but I've been around gamers.) You can also earn extra items, like armor, weapons, food for the pets/mounts, etc.

Plus, you can friend people on there and go on quests together, which just means that your XP attacks the monster, and you get updates. It can also harm you if you do not fulfill all your dailies in a given day.

If you're interested, it's free to sign up, and you can check it out on your own. It's great for writing related tasks. Aside from using it to reinforce writing daily, I will put blog posts on the to-do for specific topics/themes, any writing related work I need to do at all, whether it's writing, editing, submitting, research, or anything else having to do with writing. I also used it for a writing contest I was judging, because they sent me 66 entries to judge. I like to go in two steps, so first I do the initial read and my first judging responses and comments. I then go back at a later time to read again and update scores/comments. Keeping track of what I'd done with 66 entries took some extra work, but I used Habitica, and it helped immensely. Plus, I got to check off each entry twice, and to earn points for it. Bonus!

You can break a task down into sub-tasks, include due dates, and all sorts of things I haven't bothered checking out yet.

Even better, I got my kids to join, and they can put chores, homework, and various tasks on there, plus habits they need to get better about, and we can do the quests together and chat in the program.

Side note: Your friends cannot see your list of to-dos, just your character, pet/mount, and level. They won't know if you have something embarrassing on the list.

Again, it's free. And ad-free. So check it out! It can't hurt.

Okay, link time. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.Of Interest:

Before I get to the submissions, I wanted to pass along this deal via AppSumo for 100 credits toward stock images on Depositphoto for $49. I have a friend who bought this a year ago, and is loving it, so it is legitimate. It's one credit per image, and they are usable in print and electronic, so you can use this for book covers and such. I didn't see when this deal goes away, but it was still going at 2:00 AM, so I hope you can still grab it.

Accepting Submissions:Johns Hopkins University is seeking submissions of short stories with disabled characters written by those with disabilities for (Dis)ability. 500 to 7500 words. All genres except erotica (must be appropriate for those 14 and up). Pays $30. Deadline October 1.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Back in February, I announced that I was going to be speaking about short stories at a couple upcoming events (that have now passed), and I asked you what short story questions you wanted answered, so I could try to cover things people wonder about. I said I'd do a blog post answering those questions at some point, but here we are, eight months later, and I never did post those.

I went back and found those questions, and you'll find the answers below. Feel free to ask more, and I'll try to answer them, either in the comments or in a future post.Bish asked about short story structure, what defines a short story, and how one goes about planning/outlining.

Geez, starting with a hard one.

Short story structure can follow novel structure, but obviously massively compacted. The difference (other than the compactness) is that you should start closer to the climax/action, and get to the meat of the plot more quickly. You also get far less time to establish character, setting, plot, and conflict. And character arc is different in short stories (though story arc still must exist.) While the main character must be effected by the outcome of the story, they do not have to find major growth and change as expected in novels. There's much more to this than I've said, but since it's just a blog post, I wanted to cover the basics as simply as possible.

In defining a short story, we'll go with Duotrope's definition, which is 1000 to 7500 words. Having said that, the markets define the length, and many will go up to 10,000 or even 12,000 words for short stories. Some will go even higher, but we're technically getting into novelette and novella territory as we grow the word count. I've found that 4000 to 5000 words are the sweet spot for many short story markets, though this is in general, not a definitive maximum.

Like I said above, there must be a story arc. A short story is not a vignette, so it must still have a beginning, middle, and end.

As far as planning/outlining, do so as you would a novel, but with a single plot line/conflict, rather than the more complicated versions you'd do for a novel. You should be focusing on one element for the plot, not branching off into many subplots and multiple conflicts. If it needs to be that complicated, it's probably better as something longer than a short story.

Alex asked where to submit short stories.

My go to places to find markets are Duotrope and Submission Grinder. Both of these websites are fantastic resources for tracking down markets taking submissions. You enter information, such as genre, length, and pay, and they pull up listings for markets that meet your specifications. Duotrope charges an annual fee, but Submission Grinder is free.

Try to establish the basics of your character through their immediate reactions to their surroundings and the situation. Use brevity in describing them. And definitely use dialog and actions to show the character, rather than telling us about them, which we tend to do in novels. In short, develop the character organically through the story and their observations, reactions, thoughts, actions, and dialog. Skip the back story. Imply it if it's needed, but try to just show us what we need to know about the character as far as it impacts the story, rather than bringing in a bunch of extraneous information.

Pat asked how one decides how many characters to use.

I recommend having only one POV character, and only a couple other characters. Two to three characters is a good rule of thumb. There will always be exceptions to this recommendation (and my others above), but in general, especially when first starting on short stories, keep the characters limited, which also helps keep the story along simpler plot lines.

Olga asked if a protagonist needs a goal, like they do in novels.

Yes, the protagonist needs a goal, whether that's surviving the issue, solving a crime, or making their way through the maze of a new romance. However, they don't need a major character arc like they do in novels. I said it above, but be sure the story impacts your character. The reader needs something to draw them in and make them care about what happens to the character. Not having a character goal impacts suspense and story.

Jennifer asked how to fit a plot into a story of only a few hundred words.

Keep the idea simple. Like with short stories, you'll need to not complicate the story with sub-plots or too many characters. In fact, in a flash piece, which is what this would be, one to two characters is more than enough. I always set out with a word goal in mind, which helps me naturally write that brief. Flash fiction needs a beginning, middle, and end, just like short stories, but it's based on a single event or goal. Flash fiction is also a great place to try out twist endings, and twists tend to imply more information, which makes the story bigger than the number of words used.

Bryan asked about making a career of writing short stories and whether it's best to write a bunch with a goal toward making a collection or to focus on them singularly.

The career question is a bit of a contentious one, surprisingly. I do know at least one author who has no interest in writing novels, and who has had over 100 short stories published. I was on a panel with him recently, where he broke down what he was making versus what a newer novelist makes in a year, and he was able to show that it was more profitable to write short stories. So, yes, it's possible to build a career on writing short stories if you're writing a significant number and submitting them regularly, and if you ultimately build relationships in the writing world, but just in the same way you can do so as a new novelist. You certainly won't get rich, and likely can't quit your day job. For me, they pay for me to maintain writing costs and go to some conferences and events, and that's good enough for now.

Personally, I like to focus on the stories individually, but this one would come down to personal tastes. I did have an editor say they'd like to see a collection themed around a short story I'd submitted to them, and including that story, and I'm considering doing that (I already had been, actually). So I'd map that out more like a novel. Generally, I prefer the freedom of being able to work on whatever story is begging the most for my attention, and then being able to switch gears on a whim.

Those were all the questions on the post. I hope something in here was helpful!

Now for some links. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Gordon Square Review is seeking short stories and personal essays. Up to 5000 words. Pays $25. Deadline October 15.Helios Quarterly Magazine is seeking fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and art. The December issue is themed Heroes, Heroines, and Thrill Seekers. Up to 1500 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline October 15.

Lagos Literary is seeking short fiction, essays, and poems. All genres. Up to 2500 words. Pays $20.

My insecurity today concerns juggling ALL THE THINGS! Life in general, sure, but I'm talking about the writing things. Writing and editing novels; writing and editing short stories; submitting short stories, which means tweaking formatting and such for each market; querying novels; looking into self-pubbing a collection of short stories; looking into all the business things that come with self-pubbing; putting off research into creating an LLC for that purpose; putting together workshops and researching panels for speaking gigs; judging a writing contest; so on and so forth. Some of these things are easier than others because they're something I'm comfortable with, but others are hard. Still others aren't hard, but are definitely time consuming, and if they have a deadline then that's where I have to focus, which means other things fall by the wayside.

I have a period of "calm" coming up starting in November. Then again, I guess that depends on whether I do any form of ShaNo (I don't do NaNo, as such, but I set writing related goals that month and use the communal energy from NaNo to pursue them). Anyway, it may be that the period of calm doesn't start until December, but ack, what's calm about December. January? Okay, cool, January. I can make it until then, right?

Also, I have a book signing coming up this Friday, plus my books will be in the bookstore during the Colorado Gold Conference I'm speaking at, but my Create Space order is LATE, and I may be starting to freak out. I ordered it in plenty of time, so I have no idea what the delay is, but COME ON! Luckily, I do have inventory, just not the full inventory I submitted. Tracking says it arrives today, but so far, no dice, er, books.

I'm not up to my goal of 20 short stories on submission at a time, but I'm getting closer (plus, without the acceptances, I would have been up to 18!)

Since I'm posting this late, I'm not going to have time to do links to open submissions, but I should have some up next week. I'll have a post then answering questions about short stories I've been asked in blog comments in the past.

What are your insecurities? How do you manage your time? What do your submission stats look like for the month of August? Are you attending the Colorado Gold Conference? (If so, stop by and say hi at the book signing!)

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Time for the final set of photos from my trip to Georgetown. On my last day, I did some sightseeing by driving Guanella Pass (twice, inadvertently) and taking the train out to do a mine tour. They had just opened an extended portion of the tour, courtesy of two of the guides actually clearing deeper into the mine where it had collapsed or been covered previously. One of the coolest things in there were insanely deep pools of water that went several levels down into the mountain and preserved footprints on the stone from the silver miners. There are still active veins of silver in the mine, but it's officially shut down and can no longer be mined. We even saw liquefied silver running down one of the walls from all the water!

First, here are some wildflowers growing on Guanella Pass (there were a ton, but it's a mountain pass, so you can only pull over at specific pull-offs.) Below the flowers is the view of Georgetown from one of the pull-offs. It's a super small, cute town.

Now for the train!

And the mine. Of note, on the first picture below you'll notice a faint green. That's one of the super deep holes full of water. I believe this one was about 34 feet deep, but I may be mis-remembering (one was that depth). While mining, they ran pumps to move the water out. We had water running along the route we walked down. Water everywhere!

The second picture above was the site of a bit of a mining war. A second mining company tried to undercut their claim, coming in through the hole they blasted in the back. Miners from the proper claim chased them out with rocks then used dynamite to blow up their tunnel, which has since been reopened. On the right, though it's hard to see, is another deep hole full of water (it's not distinctive in color or I would have left it). This one was deeper than the first.

Now for links. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Splickety Magazine is seeking humorous Christmas stories for their December "Wreck the Halls" theme. 300 to 1000 words. Pays $.02/word. Deadline September 22.

Recompose is seeking poetry and flash fiction that blends speculative fiction with literary. Up to 1000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline September 30.Nashville Review is seeking fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Up to 8000 words. Pays $100 for prose, $25 for poetry. Deadline September 30.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking stories with the theme "My Crazy Family." Nonfiction. Up to 1200 words. Pays $200. Deadline September 30.

Edge is seeking speculative fiction stories involving trains for the anthology Fantastic Trains: An Anthology of Phantasmagorical Engines and Rail Riders. There are several "locomotif" elements they want the writer to choose from and include. Up to 5000 words. Pays $50 to $150. Deadline September 30.

Have you ever been on a train? What kind? How about a mine tour? Gold, silver, coal? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

I'm reading through three lists of best horror with two
friends (DeAnna
Knippling and M.B. Partlow), posting reviews as we go. (For more
information, including a list of the books, see this post.) To see the books I've reviewed so far, you
can view the list at the end of this post where I rank them.

Unless I missed it while scanning back, it's been since June that I reviewed one of the books from the horror list. Yikes! But I've read other books in the meantime.

First, I need to say this was another loooong one. Nearly 919 pages. It took me awhile to get into it (about 240 pages, if I'm remembering correctly, which is about the time I went, "Oh, now it's getting interesting.") I didn't care for all the setup, and it at first seemed like it was going to be too regimented and militaristic due to the focus of the story at that time. It did get more interesting, however, and the momentum built continuously from there.

Interesting side note: I was reading this when the North Korea tweet occurred, and people were talking about nuclear attack. Why is this interesting? Because the story is about Russia (it was written in the 80s) nuking the entirety of the U.S. from ships. They hit all the big cities. All infrastructure is wiped out, and the survivors (barely) are forced to help themselves, rescue themselves, deal with the effects of the blasts, find food, find water that isn't tainted, etc. It was a timely reading.

While it's a good book, McCammon does a lot of head hopping, even within paragraphs, and I found this wearing. For the most part, it was easy to follow who the new POV character was, but there were many times I had to go back and re-read to figure out why an action had come from someone I didn't expect it to. So how many head hops did I miss because nothing triggered me to think something was wrong? There were A LOT of POV characters. We saw into the heads of both villains and hapless heroes.

The characters were interesting, though the bad guys were edging toward caricature. The good guys were mostly highly likable, though, and it was those people who kept me reading, because I needed to finish out their stories.

If you like post-apocalyptic, this is one hell of an apocalypse. We meet the characters just before everything goes down, ride through the nuclear attack with them, and then see their progress for, I think, seven years. It's quite similar to "The Stand" in that it's an examination of good vs. evil in dire circumstances, with characters journeying across the U.S. to the place of their final countdown. There is also an element of magic woven throughout, with several of the characters having the ability to see each other and even a bit of the future using magical items. Plus, the big bad guy is somewhat magical, as is the major good guy (Swan).

If you can muck your way through the beginning, the rest of the book is worth the read. I happened across an online discussion about the book while I was struggling to move forward, and this was repeated over and over. It gets better.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Last week I posted photos of homes and statues around Georgetown, a still thriving silver mining town in the mountains of Colorado. I'd intended to make it a two-parter, with photos of Guanella Pass, the lake, the mine, and the cemetery today, but it turns out there are too many cool cemetery photos to share, so it will have to be a three-parter.

Today's all about the graves.

When you pull up to the Georgetown Alvarado Cemetery, a small, tidy cottage stands beside the wrought-iron gate. Immediately next to the road are multiple graves behind a small fence. A marble gravestone sits beside an original wooden cross. Some graves are fenced in, some have accompanying benches for loved ones to relax.

If you've never seen a mountain cemetery, this one fulfills the image. Brush, wildflowers, and aspens grow from the graves. This is no suburban mowed crab grass resting place. It's wild and beautiful, surrounded by the Rocky mountains and pine trees. I was even warned Moose like the area, though I was disappointed to not see any.

Some of the graves have been patched and repaired. Some gravestones rest on their sides. Moss of green and rust grows in the cracks. And there are even graves where the ground has cracked or sunken in.

While this is an active cemetery, with gravestones exhibiting years in the 2010s, the photos I'm sharing with you are of graves with years in the 1800s and early 1900s. There are recognizable names, including the Guanella family, Louis Dupuy and his wife, and a Clear Creek County sheriff, who also happened to be a WWII vet. I haven't shared photos of their graves, though I did photograph them.

I only had an hour to wander through the cemetery, so there were areas I missed, including some of the older ones. I hope to visit again in the fall, when the aspens have turned golden. Maybe I'll even get to see an elusive moose.

Link time. Bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting to a market.

Accepting Submissions:

Arsenika is seeking flash fiction and poetry. Up to 1000 words. Pays $60 for fiction, $30 for poetry. Deadline September 15.

Writers Resist is seeking poetry, fiction, nonfiction, essays, and other forms of writing that must express resistance. Up to 2500 words. Will pay $10 for the first 100 pieces accepted.

The Quill is seeking poetry, prose, and creative nonfiction in all genres. Up to 20,000 words, but under 10,000 is preferred. Pays up to $45, depending upon length.

Islanded Quarterly is seeking poetry, prose, and photography about being islanded (see their website for a definition). All genres. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays between 15 and 45 pounds.

The Sunlight Press is seeking personal essays, fiction, and photography. Up to 2000 words. This is a paying market.

Blindspot is seeking fantasy and science fiction. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $.08/word.

Gathering Storm Magazine is seeking short fiction with any of the following themes: The only thing to fear is fear itself; never take candy from strangers; it's just a bunch of hocus pocus; and things that go bump in the night. Up to 2000 words. Pays $25 for short stories, $10 for poetry.

Ever wandered through a cemetery? What stuck out to you or struck you about it? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share?

Thursday, August 10, 2017

This weekend I attended the Georgetown Ghost Town Writer's Retreat. Georgetown is a small town that grew up around silver mining in the Rockies. Unlike some of the old gold mining towns that have become run down or are known more for gambling than history, Georgetown is well cared for and bustling with tourism.

The retreat was pleasant, but I actually only attended two workshops and a movie night (Dead Awake), where the director was present to do a Q&A afterward. Aside from that, I spent the weekend editing in my room, wandering around playing tourist, and hanging out with fellow writers.

I thought it would be fun to post some of the over five-hundred photos I took while I was up there. Today, I'm focusing on the houses and buildings in town. Next week, I'll post photos from the cemetery, train ride, and mine tour.

Before I jump into the photos, I have a couple pieces of news. First, I'll be presenting a two-hour workshop on short stories this Saturday for Colorado Springs Fiction Writers Group. More information can be found under the "appearances" tab. I always love talking short stories, and especially hearing afterward from people who have begun trying their hand at it!

Second, I placed a flash fiction piece this week. Yay! It will be published in October. More information can be found under the "publications" tab.

All right, photo time. There were a ton of neat houses and buildings from the 1800s, mixed in with some newer buildings. Those buildings on the historical register had plaques or small round signs with the years they were built, including homes people still lived in. It was easy to get lost in history wandering around. As a wild west buff, I even got my share of cool downtown buildings that looked like something straight out of the wild west.

This first house was falling apart. It was nestled between several well kept houses, but this one's yard was overgrown, the porch sagging, and some of the siding peeling off. It looked like someone had loved it once, but maybe they passed away with no one to leave it to, after years of not being able to maintain the property.

The flowers that had sprung up in the overgrown yard were purple, white, and yellow, mixed in with the brown leaves of downed branches, and the faded green of various weeds.

Below was one of the well maintained houses. I'm not sure what year was on the historical marker. There was metal work along the eaves that looked like it dissuade any smart bird from landing there. It looked like the tops of wrought iron gates.

There was an old Presbyterian church with gorgeous stone siding and antique fixtures. It was built in 1874 of native stone.

Below are some random photos from around downtown.

It was a perfect mix of old and new, well preserved and crumbling. The townspeople (and those working there from surrounding mountain communities) were proud of the town, and eager to share stories of hauntings and history with the hundred or so authors who descended on the town. There were a lot of things I didn't get to do, like tour the electricity museum that included Tesla's involvement, or visit one of the historic houses to tour its hallways and hear about its ghosts. I plan to go back up with my family and visit everything I missed.

Next week, gravestones, silver mines, and locomotives!

Now for links. Bear in mind I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.Accepting Submissions:

Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking personal stories with the theme "Miracles and More" and "Stories of Redemption." 1200 words or less. Nonfiction only. Pays $200. Deadline August 31.

Silver Empire is seeking stories in any genre with the theme "Stairs in the Woods." Must be about a random detached set of stairs. 3000 to 20,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline August 31.

Digital Fiction Publishing Corp is seeking horror reprint short stories that appeared in professional or semi-professional short story publications. 3500 to 7500 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline August 31.

Twelfth Planet Press is seeking short stories about "gender as it relates to the creation of artificial intelligence and robotics" for the anthology "Mother of Invention." 500 to 5000 words. Deadline August 31.

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Books

Each book below is available for purchase. I have linked to the Amazon pages for those that have them, but more purchase links can be found on the Publications tab. The following books are available signed if you contact me directly: The Deep Dark Woods, Once Upon a Scream, and Through Clouded Eyes.

The Deep Dark Woods

My Story: The Blue Mist

Once Upon a Scream

My Story: The Black Undeath

Through Clouded Eyes: A Zombie's Point of View

My Story: Metamorphosis

Fabula Argentea

My Story: The Rejection

Dark Moon Digest #28

My Story: Faceless

Space and Time

My Story: Let's Play a Game

Grandma's Leather Sofa

Audible, reading by Hallie Ricardo

The Literary Hatchet #16

My Story: Salvation Lottery

Cheapjack Pulp

My Story: For Love of the Hunt - Free to Read

Dark Moon Digest

My Story: Shifting Sands

Bloodbond

My Story: Sound Advice

Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things

My Story: Grandma's Leather Sofa

The Flash Fiction Press

My Story: Nice Night for a Splash - Free to Read

Devolution Z

My Story: Blue Sludge Blues

Sanitarium

My Story: Maelstrom

Under the Bed

My Story: Know Thy Neighbor

Of Mist & Magic

My Story: Awakening

IWSG Guide to Publishing & Beyond

My Contribution: Querying Your Way to Publication

Tree of Life

My Story: Turning Point

Beyond the Binding

My Story: Spes et Libertas

Sunday Snaps

My Story: The Family Ruins

About Me

Multi-published short story author, horror aficionado, and mom. I enjoy sharing what I learn along the publishing journey and helping fellow writers. I do not do book review posts except in specific instances, but am happy to host you for a guest post or book launch.